ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Lobo men’s basketball coach Paul Weir continues to reach out to the local community with his team taking their brand of hoops to local high schools.

The Lobos held the first of three scheduled public workouts Tuesday at Rio Rancho High School. “Part of it is us getting out of our own gym, getting somewhere new, getting to a different environment,” said Weir.. “We’re going to have to go on the road a lot this year. We are going to have to play in adverse environments. Getting somewhere new and going through that process is something rewarding internally and obviously externally. It’s a chance for us to get out in the community and see a different part of the city. Hopefully we get people engaged with our program.”

The Lobos practiced in front of a crowd of Rams basketball players and Lobo fans for about an hour and a half. For Rams basketball coach Wally Salata it was a chance for his players to see how tough a division one basketball program can be. “Some of these kids got to understand the hard work that they got to put in to be a division one basketball player,” said Salata. “I’m hoping today they get to see how hard these guys work on the court.”

They saw how hard and was impressed. A Rams player named Daniel said, “It is really interesting to see how far they can go compared to our team, how much better they are than us.” A lot of basketball publications are forecasting a tough year for Weir’s Lobos. “We are going to be a lot better than what people think we will be,” said Lobos guard/forward Sam Logwood. “We don’t have nothing to lose. Everyone picked us last so we kind of took that to heart.” The Lobos are at La Cueva High School for an open workout next Tuesday. Their first action against another opponent is November 11. That is when the Lobos will host Northern New Mexico.